I wish to lodge a formal objection to the proposed allocation of 125 new houses in Loxwood Village.

I believe that the decision on which of the designated "Service Villages" was chosen and the allocation of number of houses in these villages was not adequate and without proper consultation.

The National Planning Policy Framework refers to sustainability of infrastructure capacity:
Transport, roads waste water (sewage) and
Environmental constraints, avoidance of flood risk areas

Of the 17 service villages only 8 have been selected for housing development. Loxwood has been a disproportionately allocated an excessive number, 125 of 500 houses. It has been singled out for development whilst, neighboring Parishes of similar size and facilities (Wisborough Green and Kirfdford), have been allocated little or no development.

This is contrary to the Chichester Local Plan Policy, to seek to disperse development across the plan area and support rural communities. Why has development not been shared amongst the other service villages and Loxwood been singled out for this proposed, unsustainable allocation? There been no prior consultation with our Parish Council and no engagement with the parish community.

Loxwood differs very little from its neighboring service villages in terms of facilities and transport, all are very limited but development should have been spread to lessen the impact on the rural communities and provide a more sustainable result.

Schooling - Loxwood has only a small Primary School, with the capacity accommodate only 200 pupils, at present it is close to this capacity. Pupils are already transported into school by car or coach from outside the village. The school will not be able to service the needs of the increase in pupil numbers that would result from the proposed high level of development.

Employment opportunities in Loxwood are extremely limited, the parish will not be able to sustain the employment needs created by the proposed development. Significant increases in housing and population will result in further congestion on the already inadequate roads as virtually all in employment will have no choice but to commute by road. There are also no provisions for alternative transport such as dedicated cycle routes.

Public transport is not an option, there are no suitable buses and no stations accessible other than by car.
Route No.42; this service runs once a day from Monday to Friday only excluding Public Holidays. The journey to Guildford takes one hour (approx.) the one return service of leaves two hours later taking the same time.
Two other bus routes pass through the Loxwood, No. 64 to Horsham and No.69 to Shoreham both run one service twice per week, excluding Public Holidays. Journey times are one hour and one hour forty-five mins respectively, return services leave after two hours. All three bus routes serve Wisborough Green and Kirdford, none are at school or commuting times.



Waste Water, the water authority for Loxwood is Southern Water who have repeatedly stated that the waste water and sewage system in Loxwood is over capacity. The sewage system is old inadequate for current needs and in a bad state of repair. At times of heavy rainfall both surface water and ground water inundate the system leading to flooding. Southern Water have stated they currently have no plans, proposals or funding to upgrade the sewer system in Loxwood before 2025, and no commitment to include plans to do so in the five year period beyond 2025

The Loxwood sewer system is also fed into from other areas, such as Alfold, Surrey, which is served by a different water authority. There is currently a large development under construction at Alfold, which will detrimentally impact on the already over capacity sewage system. It is clear that the Loxwood sewage system is unable to support further development of the scale in the new plan and this would be contrary to NPPF policy.

Flood Risk, areas of Loxwood are already designated by the Environment Agency as at high risk of flooding, from both fluvial flooding of the Loxwood Stream and surface water flooding. Various levels of flooding are common, particularly in winter months. Unusually, in May 2018 Loxwood experienced a surface water flash flood which inundated the sewer system affecting Guildford Road, Station Road and Burley Close. The months preceding this saw the construction on Guildford Road in the centre of the village a housing development of 43 houses.

The Environment Agency issued two flood warnings in December 2018, for the Loxwood Stream, which due the high levels of rainfall and surface water caused the level of the stream to rise dangerously high.

The proposed large scale of development, if allowed, given the known flood risks and the known inability of the sewage system to cope in its present state would be irresponsible and could have catastrophic repercussions particularly given the knowledge that there are no foreseeable plans to update the infrastructure. This could pose a real risk to life and property of more frequent and more dangerous flooding.





The excessive proposed development in Loxwood and the loss of countryside will destroy the rural nature of our village and community. It is not sustainable or in line with stated policy of the draft Chichester Local Plan or NPPF. It is not proportionate, has no consideration of fairness and has been driven purely by developers.

The decision has been taken without adequate consultation with or involvement of the community. CDC could and should have looked to all their service villages and required them to identify sustainable development sites within their own parishes (as previously required for the parish Plans and in line with stated policy. Development of smaller sites across the services villages would be more sustainable, will have been achieved through involvement of the communities and will have less impact on them.

I request that my comments be taken into consideration when CDC submit their Plan Review to the next stage of consultation.